2018 Volkswagen Tiguan Driver assistance Problems

A few weeks ago i noticed that a car passed me and the little blind spot alert light didn't light up. when i arrived at my destination I did some scanning through the menus and i discovered that the blind spot (side assist) was not on, but when i attempted to turn it on, the car said "function not available". After some investigation (using a odbeleven scanner) i discovered that the blind spot assist functionality has a fault with "no communication". This system, upon failure, give NO indication anywhere, plus this also means my rear back up alert ( a kid running behind my car, for example, which would normally cause a huge alert, nothing happens). I also learned that there is a technical bulletin : [XXX] related to this. This should be a recall, its dangerous to have no indication that a safety feature system like this is completely nonfunctional (without an ODBeleven read). a light on the dash should alert me, or a message on the screen. this is just plain dangerous! INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11742512

Incident

Apr 25, 2026

One time the car Just Lost power on the freeway and the e-card engine light came on and the cat Ran rugh and stalled and jerked hard almost causing me to cause a serious accident...I took it to vw and explained the severity and they bypassed that And installed a new water pump..2months later the same thing happened exactly to where I was very lucky and very upset...and took it to them once again and explained more issues where I'm urging . As to the front warning light and motion has came into play a few times witch was shocking...also the car would be on slow mo mode....and constant warning lights would come on the dashboard as well as the car would feel so unstable and Feel as if it were On gear 1/L while in the drive position...also the Eco turn of feature would playout ..and stall from time to time..then the car would get stuck on speed when foot would come off the accelerator to brake before a stop sign or red light intersection witch just started to concern me and I again took these concerns to Rick case vw and They thought I was inventing this story..then the car leaked coolant..and it rusted out the whole bottom of my car ..hoses...and they replaced the thermostat this time around and now the car has misfired..could not start ..idle was ver rough and just vibrated dramatically and damaged coils and spakplugs and blew out fuel inject #2 and can't hold pressure past 30 ..changed out the spak plugs and coils and the car is just crippled and its a safety hazard and in many occasions has almost caused me to cause a serious accident...

NHTSA ID

11704422

Incident

Dec 2, 2025

On September 19th 2025, while driving on the highway at normal speed, the instrument cluster fuel gauge misread the fuel level and indicated that the tank still had fuel. Without any warning light or low-fuel alert, the vehicle suddenly lost power because it was actually out of gas. I was traveling with my boyfriend and our three dogs. We became stranded on the shoulder of a busy highway as vehicles passed at 70–80 mph. The outside temperature was about 85-90 at the time. This created a serious safety hazard: The cluster’s inaccurate fuel reading prevented me from knowing we were nearly empty. The engine shut down unexpectedly, leaving limited steering and braking control as we coasted to the shoulder. We were exposed to high-speed traffic and extreme heat while waiting for assistance. Additional cluster/safety issues observed: No audible turn-signal “click” or indicator sound when using the blinker. No warning chime if the car is left running when the driver exits (for example, if the ignition is on but the door is opened or the key is removed). The vehicle is out of warranty, but the dealership diagnosed a failed instrument cluster and quoted about $2,500 for replacement. Why This Is a Safety Concern: The instrument cluster provides critical driver alerts. Inaccurate fuel readings, lack of turn-signal audio, and the absence of an engine-on warning chime all reduce driver awareness and can directly lead to dangerous situations on the road. Requested Action: I urge NHTSA to investigate whether the 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan’s instrument cluster/fuel-level system and related warning features contain a design or manufacturing defect and to consider a recall or other remedy to prevent accidents or injuries.

NHTSA ID

11689357

Incident

Sep 19, 2025

Activates while driving on a flat road at random

NHTSA ID

11687206

Incident

Sep 14, 2025

Persistent and Dangerous Malfunction of Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Traffic Assist The safety features of Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Traffic Assist, designed to enhance driving safety, have unfortunately been plagued by a persistent and alarming malfunction. Despite the dealership's diligent efforts to troubleshoot the issue, the sudden and unannounced shutdown of these critical systems continues to pose a significant hazard during driving. The erratic and unanticipated shutdowns of the Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Traffic Assist systems create an extremely hazardous situation. These systems, essential for ensuring road safety, can cease to function without any prior warning. This sudden malfunction significantly increases the potential for accidents and poses a considerable threat to the well-being of both drivers and other road users. In an attempt to rectify this unsettling problem, the dealership has made efforts to identify the root cause. However, no fault codes have been detected, leaving the issue unresolved. This persistent malfunction continues to occur on a weekly basis, further exacerbating the gravity of the situation. The ongoing malfunction of Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Traffic Assist systems not only undermines the trust drivers place in these safety features but also compromises the overall safety of the vehicle. The inability to identify the root cause of this issue hinders the dealership's ability to provide an effective solution, leaving drivers and passengers vulnerable to the potential dangers that may arise from their sudden and unpredictable failure. The recurring and unexpected shutdowns of Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Traffic Assist systems represent a serious concern for drivers, as they compromise the safety of both the vehicle occupants and other road users.

NHTSA ID

11577953

Incident

Mar 18, 2024

On multiple occasions, while driving on the highway, subject vehicle displayed check engine light and EPC light at random intervals and an alarm saying exceeded 4000 came on. RPM's were not over 4000. Speed and acceleration severely limited making it dangerous to pull over on the highway in traffic. Had to pull car over and restart engine. This has happened numerous times. Also experienced shaking and skipping or missing of transmission. The car has also had the engine stall or stop when at red light or stopped forcing restart of engine.

NHTSA ID

11565620

Incident

Nov 8, 2023

My vehicle has had repeated issues with passenger airbags, after last repair all of the safety sensors failed and received warning on dashboard (no collision protection, no Adaptive cruise control) after bringing back to dealer car was returned to me and told the parts are unavailable. Currently I have had a vehicle under warranty which has no collision protection features that came with the car. Car by dealer’s own statement it is unsafe to drive yet was returned to us. It has been nearly 3 months and are continually told that there is no fix in site.

NHTSA ID

11543476

Incident

Jun 19, 2023

Engine keeps failing and dings while driving non-stop. Causes the vehicle to think there is another vehicle near me and activates the emergency braking in the middle of the highway almost causing me to crash. I have taken the vehicle to dealer and told it is fixed about 8 times now

NHTSA ID

11525928

Incident

Apr 25, 2022

The first time this problem occurred was in April right after a routine maintenance check. The car was idling in a parking lot when the engine started to vibrate and a warning was displayed that said "Max Engine Speed 4000 RPM". The car was turned off and then back on. The warning did show up on the display, but the "check engine" light was lit. The car was driven back home, and after that drive the check engine light was not lit anymore. To be safe the car was taken to the dealer. The dealer was not able to replicate the issue. Later, in July, the max engine speed and EPC warnings were displayed on the screen in the middle of a trip. At this time there was also a loss of acceleration power. The driver pulled over, stopped the car, and then restarted it. When the car restarted the warning lights were no longer on so the driver completed the trip. In the manual it says that the car can still be operated if the EPC warning light is on, but that it should be taken to a dealer. This led the driver to believe that it was safe to complete the trip and take the car to their home dealership after the holiday. The following day, the EPC warning light and the max engine speed warning both appeared in the middle of a drive. The driver was driving up a hill on a backroad with no possible pull off. The driver had to stop the car in the middle of a road directly after a blind turn. The driver restarted the car and was able to drive about 10 yards before the warning came on again and the engine cut out. The driver repeated turning the car off and then back on multiple times to be able to safely get the car up the hill and to an area where a pull-off was available. Luckily, no other cars were coming at the time the car was stalled. It was a very unsafe location! The car is currently in the process of being towed to the dealer to be worked on. This seems like a very serious safety concern that is affecting other Tiguan owners too.

NHTSA ID

11472324

Incident

Jul 3, 2022

Blind spot assist warning shows up from time to time even when there is no vehicle near me.

NHTSA ID

11466616

Incident

May 29, 2022

Car has multiple malfunctions. Has had noisy valvetrain, lack of power upon acceleration, has sputtered with a load on engine especially uphill. Car shut off completely while at 60 mph and nearly caused a catastrophic collision with my whole family in the car. Car presents substantial safety risk. Multiple codes/warnings have flashed up on the display screen(Evap,Trans,fuel inj,etc). Transmission went into "emergency mode" after being started up today, then went away after restarted. Car has been to dealership but issues were not properly addressed/ignored. VW of America is well aware of issues with these cars but ignores the consumers needs and puts consumers at great safety risk by doing so. This vehicle has both engine and transmission issues as well as odd electrical anomalies.

NHTSA ID

11466553

Incident

May 28, 2022

At 48k miles, fuel efficiency began to significantly drop. At next start up, engine would not turn over and EPC light came on. I waited 30 minutes, unlocked the steering wheel and was able to start the vehicle and EPC light turned off. I took it into Volkswagen dealership to have it looked over and they could not duplicate the issue nor find cause for lower fuel efficiency. The issue with fuel persisted intermittently. Then at 57k, while driving long distance, I noticed what seemed like misfiring when accelerating above 65 mph. There were no noises, no warning lights, and fuel efficiency seemed about the same. I continued driving and about 6 hours into my drive, EPC light came on, RPM's shot up to 4,000 and car began violently shaking while losing significant power and dropped down to 30 mph. I was in the left lane when it occurred and had to quickly move over to the right lane. The car then could not exceed 40 mph with the pedal held to the floor. I turned on my hazards while I continued driving an additional 30 miles to the nearest Volkswagen dealership. Because of how heavy the traffic was and the high speeds of the travelers, it put myself and my passengers at risk from not being able to accelerate, along with the other drivers having to either brake hard or quickly change lanes to avoid my car. At the Volkswagen dealership, diagnosis found code p0204 cylinder 4 injector. They confirmed 4th cylinder misfiring and replaced the fuel injector harness. Since that repair, my car has been shaking at idol, when initially taking off, and if I turn of the start/stop function.

NHTSA ID

11457881

Incident

Mar 12, 2022

The blind spot warning of the car has again stopped working. I had a similar issue in 2020 and that was repaired by VW Dealer. This is again an issue and is a safety risk.

NHTSA ID

11455229

Incident

Feb 28, 2022

The Blind Spot warning, forward collision warning and parking collision warning suddenly stopped working even though they showed that the features were enabled in the car's dashboard settings. Fortunately, I realized this and took it to the dealer for repairs.

NHTSA ID

11455226

Incident

Nov 30, 2020

The automatic emergency braking activated and slammed on the brakes, for no apparent cause. There were no cars, people, animals around. And luckily, no car was behind mine. This has happened NUMEROUS times previously, especially when going through roundabouts and downhill. This issue needs to be addressed by VW. I have mentioned it to service at a VW dealer, and they just tell you to turn off the front brake assist, but that is not a solution. Plus, you would have to turn it off EVERY time you start your car.

NHTSA ID

11444797

Incident

Dec 23, 2021

The contact owns a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan. The contact stated that while the cruise control was activated with a vehicle in the lane directly next to the vehicle or two lanes over, the Collision Avoidance System would determine that the vehicles were too close and the Crash Imminent Braking System would activate and stop the vehicle. The issue most recently occurred while driving 70 MPH causing the contact to aggressively depress the accelerator pedal. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who informed him that there was no malfunction detected. The contact spoke to the manufacturer who informed him that the issue was known however, there was no recall on the VIN for the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000.

NHTSA ID

11440219

Incident

Jan 1, 2019

Mileage

20,000 mi

This vehicle's forward collision warning system is inaccurate and dangerous. It is very prone to errant activation. At least once a month, the vehicle's collision system would detect objects that were not there (often, when there was no traffic and also no roadway barriers like guardrails). These activations would result in the vehicle slamming on it's breaks, which culminated in warped brakes and premature wear on the vehicle. It was also hazardous to any vehicles driving behind me, as well as occupants of the vehicle - due to sudden jarring. My local VW dealer acknowledged this is a common problem with no solution, and not worth doing diagnostics on.

NHTSA ID

11438386

Incident

Nov 1, 2017

My VW Tiguan was out of alignment, as happens to every car. Unfortunately, the VW Dealership informed me that I cannot get a simple alignment for $100 because VW requires calibration of the Adaptive Cruise Control any time an alignment is done. I could not find this anywhere in the Owner's Manual, nor are there any other warnings on the car or in any paperwork I signed. The VW dealership wanted an additional $400.00 (for a total exceeding $500) to provide both services. I am concerned about this 1) because VW does not communicate that this is a limitation of the ACC system, and 2) while an alignment should be the customer's responsibility to pay for, calibrating the ACC system should not. Anyone could go get an alignment done at a tire or brake shop for about $100 - what happens if they try to use their ACC afterwards and an accident happens? VW should cover ACC calibration as part of the limited warranty, and clearly warn customers not to perform one service without the other.

NHTSA ID

11438385

Incident

Oct 1, 2021

Like many other people who have complained, the same EPC engine light turning on after the engine stalls while driving. This has happened multiple times while driving on the highway while going 65mph+. The max speed 4000 rpm message comes on the dashboard. The car does not accelerate and pulling over is necessary in order to shut off the car and restart the engine. This is incredibly dangerous and the car’s speed cannot be controlled.

NHTSA ID

11436515

Incident

Oct 12, 2021

I WAS DRIVING WITH A FRIEND IN CAR DOING SPEED LIMIT AND ALL OF OF SUDDEN THE RED VEHICLE ACCIDENT IMAGE CAME ON THE CAR SHUDDERED AND THE AUTO BRAKES CAME ON THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME IT HAS HAPPENED MY FRIEND FREAKED OUT I BOT IT IN SEPT 18 AND IT HAPPENED A COUPLE MONTHS AFTER THAT I IMMEDIATELY CALLED VW

NHTSA ID

11402727

Incident

Dec 6, 2020

Mileage

20,000 mi

I'VE BEEN HAVING ISSUES WITH THE REVERSE CAMERA AND THE INFOTAINMENT DISPLAY. THIS HAPPENS 70% OF THE TIME BUT WHEN I PUT THE CAR INTO REVERSE, THE SCREEN WILL GO BLACK WITH A POP UP SAYING "THE PARKPILOT IS CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE". THIS HAPPENS RANDOMLY, SOMETIMES WHEN I LEAVE HOME THE REVERSE CAMERA WORKS FINE, BUT WHEN I TRY TO PARK SOMEWHERE AT MY DESTINATION THE ISSUE APPEARS. SOMETIMES AN IMAGE FROM THE RVC WILL APPEAR FOR A SPLIT SECOND THEN CUT OUT TO BLACK WITH THE POPUP OF THE PARK PILOT NOT BEING AVAILABLE. I DON'T THE HAVE PARK ASSIST FEATURE AVAILABLE ON THE MODEL I'VE PURCHASED, SO I'M NOT SURE WHY THE CAR EVEN THINKS I HAVE "PARK PILOT". THE ISSUE "FIXES" ITSELF WHEN I'VE LEFT THE CAR ON OFF FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES BUT THE ISSUE WILL REAPPEAR AGAIN SOONER OR LATER. IT'S AN ONGOING PROBLEM AND I'VE TAKEN MY CAR INTO THE DEALERSHIP TIME AND TIME AGAIN WITH NO RESOLUTION. I PURCHASED THIS CAR BECAUSE I THOUGHT THIS WAS A GREAT SAFETY FEATURE AND NOW I CAN'T EVEN USE IT BECAUSE IT DOES NOT WORK.

NHTSA ID

11389911

Incident

Feb 1, 2020

MY FRONT ASSIST FUNCTION MALFUNCTIONED. I WAS DRIVING AT A SPEED OF 50MPH AND THE CAR CAME TO AN IMMEDIATE STOP. THE SEAT BELT RESTRAINTS ALMOST CHOKED ME, AND THE SUDDEN STOP JARRED ME. THERE WAS NOTHING IN THE FRONT OF ME WHEN THIS HAPPENED. I'VE BEEN TERRIFIED EVERY SINCE IT HAPPENED. IT HAPPENED TWICE BEFORE, BUT THIS THIRD TIME WAS THE WORST. THE NEXT MORNING I CONTACTED VW, AND TOOK MY CAR IN. THEY TEST DROVE MY CAR. I WAS TOLD THEY DIDN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG, AND TO COME PICK UP MY VEHICLE. I EXPRESSED TO THEM THAT SOMETHING DEFINITELY WAS WRONG. I SUGGESTED THEM DO MORE DIAGNOSTICS, BUT THEY DID NOT. I CALLED CORPORATE AND NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE. THEY DID DOCUMENT MY CLAIM AND GAVE ME A CLAIM NUMBER. IN THE MEANTIME I STARTED DOING SOME INVESTIGATIONS. THERE IS A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT INVESTIGATION GOING ON. I ALSO FOUND A YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THIS INCIDENT HAPPENING ON ANOTHER VEHICLE.

NHTSA ID

11385693

Incident

Dec 28, 2020

Mileage

46,000 mi

THE CAR DOES NOT ACCELERATE FROM A STOP ESPECIALLY ON HOT DAYS AFTER BEING IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC. I STEP ON THE GAS AND LITERALLY NOTHING HAPPENS. THE ENGINE DOESN'T REV AND THE CAR DOES NOT ADVANCE. I CAN PUSH THE GAS PEDAL MULTIPLE TIMES BEFORE IT FINALLY ACCELERATES AND THEN IT DOES IT IN AN OUT OF CONTROL MANNER. I HAVE HAD TO SIT THROUGH A FULL CYCLE OF A LIGHT BEFORE IT HAS STARTED. I HAVE BROUGHT IT TO A DEALERSHIP MULTIPLE TIMES WITH THIS COMPLAINT, BUT EVERY TIME THEY ARE UNABLE TO GET IT TO FAIL. I BROUGHT IT IN FOR A RECALL AND THE PROBLEM WAS MADE WORSE AND NOT BETTER. THE CAR IS NOT SAFE. THE ISSUE BEGAN WITHIN 6 MONTHS OF PURCHASE AND WHILE IT ISN'T CONSTANT, IT HAS BEEN A REPEATED PROBLEM FOR THE PAST 2 YEARS.

NHTSA ID

11366975

Incident

Oct 27, 2020

Mileage

41,000 mi

MY CAR HESITATES WHEN ACCELERATING AT A COMPLETE STOP. I PRESS THE ACCELERATOR TO PULL INTO TRAFFIC AND IT SEEMS THE CAR JUST DOESN'T WANT TO GO! THIS MAKES IT VERY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE PERIOD. IT TAKES A FEW SECONDS FOR THE CAR TO 'WAKE UP' AND FINALLY ACCELERATE.

NHTSA ID

11318746

Incident

Mar 1, 2020

I BOUGHT A CAR FROM VW SOUTH ORLANDO 7 MONTH AGO AND SINCE THAN I HAD A LOT OF ISSUE WITH THE CAR ENGINE LIGHT WAS GOING ON AND OFF I BEEN THEIR LIKE 5 TIMES NOW AND JUST PISSING ME OFF I WANT A REPLACEMENT CAR

NHTSA ID

11307251

Incident

Feb 1, 2020